Postcard from Bishkek

My father was a trade union official and, even if I say it myself, somewhat of a “barrack room lawyer”.  Years later, when I was to follow in his footsteps and also became a trade union official, one of the lessons he taught me proved to be invaluable: “Get it in writing.” “If all you’ve […]

Today is International Translation Day. The day was established in 1991 by the International Federation of Translators, (an international grouping of more than 100 professional associations – representing over 80 000 translators in 55 countries.) For the record: The Federation was established in 1953 to promote professionalism, improve conditions for the profession in all countries […]

When it mes to learning Kyrgyz, I have an interesting little problem.  Because I don’t take proper lessons and only dip n and out of exercises every now and again, my knowledge of Kyrgyz vocabulary and grammar is very haphazard. As a result, I am not really surprised when I come across a word that […]

  When I first moved to London, (yes, London – not Kyrgyzstan), I took a week of my holiday before starting work to explore the city.  Although I had visited London before, it was only on specific trips to attend a conference or visit a theater, or something like that.  So, I bought a travel […]

Language is not static but changes with usage over the period of time with new words being coined, whilst other are “borrowed” from foreign languages.  Some words are replaced or simply dropped from common usage and others are transformed and given new meanings.  Thanks particularly to the internet, we are going through a period of […]

During recent years, as public holidays have approached, banners and signs have appeared bearing the slogan “Mairamynyzdar Menen!” It’s obviously in Kyrgyz, so I asked a Kyrgyz member of staff what it meant – and was told that it’s the Kyrgyz equivalent of the Russian “Se Prazdnikom!” … “with the holiday!”.  It turn, this is […]

There’s a lot of controversy here at the moment about proposed changes to the law about the State Language which would require that all government documents appear only in Kyrgyz and that all civil servants to pass a Kyrgyz-language exam and impose fines for those who slip into Russian in official meetings. I confess to […]

Today’s postcard is dedicated to the fact that it’s International Mother Language Day. Yes, it’s another one of those special, United Nations designated days.  It’s been celebrated on 21st February every year since 2000 in order to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism; multilingual education, and to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions […]

I wonder how many people have finished writing their Thank You letters for their Christmas and New Year’s gifts.  This chore, suffered by children over the centuries, was always one of the downsides to the holiday season … Well, it’s not too late!  Today’s a good dayfor saying Danke, Dyakuyu, Gracias, Grazie, Merci, Rahkmat, Spasibo, […]

The word “Hello” is a salutation, or greeting, in English and comes in many different forms: Hallo, Hello, Hullo, Hollo and, apparently, even Hillo.  It seems to be “borrowed” word, taken from Old German, (but there also seems to be a connection with French). The word has been adopted almost universally in different languages all […]